Lucky
by Kathsalvatore
Summary: AH. Katherine and Stefan grew up being best friends. When she's eleven, Katherine moves out to persue her acting and singing career. Six years go by an she is now a spoilt, hard-partying, drug-addict singer and actress. After rehab, she's forced to spend all summer in her hometown. Will Stefan remind her of the girl she used to be?
1. Prologue

**So... the other day I was listening to Mary's song (Oh my, my, my) by Taylor Swift and well, this idea came up. This is just a short prologue but if you like it I'll be uploading the first chapter soon :) Sorry for my mistakes!  
**

**Just to make clear, Elena and Katherine are twins and they're Isobel and Grayson's daughters, but they live with Grayson and Miranda. Jeremy is Grayson and Miranda's son. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the vampire diaries or any of its characters. :(**

* * *

_She said, I was seven and you were nine_

_I looked at you like the stars that shine_

_In the sky, the pretty lights_

_And our daddies used to joke about the two of us,_

_growing up and falling in love_

_and our mammas smiled and rolled their eyes,_

_and said oh, my, my, my..._

_**-Taylor Swift Mary's song**_

**_Flashback. Ten years ago..._**

_"You're so slow, Stefan!" Seven-year-old Katherine shouted, as she ran along the forest wearing an impeccable white dress and a matching hair-band. _

_"Shut up, you cheated!" Nine-year-old Stefan said, running behind her in his little suit. Then he saw her climbing a short fence. "Hey! We're not supposed to go there!"_

_"Who cares?!" Katherine said as he arrived where she was and saw how she quickly passed to the other side of the fence, where there was a field full of mulberries. "Come on, Stefan!"_

_"Katie, our parents are gonna get mad!" Stefan told her._

_"You're a chicken!" She told him, challenging him. _

_"I am not!" Stefan said, getting a little pissed. _

_"Then come here!" She insisted. _

_"It's your aunt's wedding! We'll strain our clothes and our moms will be mad!" Stefan said and Katherine rolled her eyes. _

_"Fine, I'll go by myself." She said, starting to walk to the field. _

_Stefan doubted for a moment if he should go behind her or not. His mother had given him clear instructions: Do not strain your suit. Do not go to the forest. Do not cross the 'forbidden' fence. And then Miranda had come, and said the same to Katherine. He always tried to follow the rules, but having Katie as his best friend made it difficult to do what he was told. _

_He shouldn't be crossing that fence, but, on the other hand, it looked like fun. Besides he couldn't just leave Katie alone..._

_Maybe he could just play and not strain his suit and their parents wouldn't even notice they'd been there. _

_He climbed up the fence and crossed to the other side, and Katie smiled widely when she saw him._

_"Finally!" She said. "I'll race you to that tree!" She pointed at a mulberry which was some meters away from them. _

_"You know I'll beat you, I'm bigger than you" Stefan told her. _

_"Well, let's see that... at the count of three..." She said as they got ready. "One... two..." She suddenly started running. "Three!"_

_"Hey, that's not fair stop cheating!" He complained as he ran behind her. She was always cheating because she just hated losing. Stefan had got used to that but it was sometimes really annoying because she'd never let him win, not a single time. _

_She finally arrived before him and then said. "Ha! I win!"_

_"That's not fair you always cheat!" Stefan said, a little pissed off. _

_"Not true"_

_"Yes it is" _

_"No it's not!"_

_"Yes it is!" Stefan insisted. "And you know I'd beat you if you didn't do that because you're a dwarf!"_

_Katie pouted. "Miranda says I'm gonna grow as big as her"_

_"We'll see that"_

_"Don't be mean!"_

_"What?! You're shorter than Lena, aren't you? And you're the same age" Stefan said and when Katie lowered her gaze he quickly added. "But you're the prettiest one"_

_She smiled widely at him again. "Thanks"_

_"You're welcome" He said as he looked up to the blackberries which were growing on the tree. "I'm hungry. Let's grab some of those"_

_Katherine nodded and a moment later Stefan was helping her climb up, as she was at least eight inches shorter than him. Then he climbed too and they both sat on a branch._

_Stefan started pulling out some blackberries as Katie stayed deep in thought for a while._

_"Stefan, can I ask you a question?" She said suddenly, while Stefan continued being entertained pulling out the blackberries._

_"Sure"_

_"Do you think that my mamma is never here because of that?" She asked him and he raised his gaze from the blackberries to look at her. "Because I'm too short? Maybe nobody told her that I'll grow up and I'll be bigger"_

_"I don't think that's the reason, Katie" Stefan told her and she lowered her gaze._

_"Then why didn't she come for Christmas this year?" She asked, grabbing some blackberries. "What have I done wrong? I did my homework and I have been behaving well... most of the time"_

_"I don't think you have done anything wrong" Stefan told her and she looked at him. "Neither did Lena. I just think your mom is the one who's doing things wrong"_

_"Why?" Katherine asked him. "I mean, I understand with Elena... everyone says she's such a good girl... but all I bring to my dad and Miranda is trouble"_

_"That's not true" Stefan scoffed. "I think you're kind of amazing"_

_"You think so?" She asked him, smiling again._

_"Yeah" He said, giving her a blackberry. "You sing very nice, are funnier than the rest of the girls and your hair smells good."_

_"Really?" She asked, taking a stray of her hair and smelling it._

_"Yeah, like strawberries"_

_"Wow" She said, letting her hair go and looking at him and he looked quickly away and grabbed another blackberry._

_"Of course, that's just sometimes" He said and then added. "Most of the time you're just annoying"_

_She giggled as she threw him a blackberry to his hair. "Shut up!" _

_"Katie, Stefan, where are you?!" They suddenly heard Maria's voice say and both of them looked at each other in horror before climbing off the tree._

_They ran as fast as they could towards the fence, until they saw Maria and Miranda standing behind it, crossing their arms and looking rather pissed. _

_But when Miranda looked at Katherine's -now purple- dress she really went completely mad._

_"KATERINA SERENA GILBERT!" Miranda shouted at her. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR DRESS?!"_


	2. Tied together with a smile

_Hold on, baby you're losing it_

_The water's high, you're jumping into it and_

_Letting go, and no one knows_

_that you cry but you don't tell anyone,_

_that you might not be the Golden one_

_And you're tied together with a smile but you're coming undone..._

_**Taylor Swift - Tied together with a smile.**_

**Katherine's POV**

"Damn it, Pearl! Can you be useful just for once?! I need more eye-shadow, can't you tell?!" I complained to my make-up artist when I looked at myself in the mirror.

"But, you should have told me before, you're ready since half an hour ago and now there's no time-" Pearl started saying but I cut her off.

"Are you questioning me?! Should I remind you of who I am?!" I shouted at her.

"I'm sorry, Katherine." Pearl said, looking for the eye-shadow. "I'll fix it"

Pearl went back to doing her job as I rolled my eyes. I was surrounded by idiots twenty-four-seven, no one can blame me for snapping like that.

"Katherine, five minutes!" I heard Isobel -aka. my mom- shout from outside my dressing room.

I looked at myself in the mirror and thanked the magic of make-up for hiding my exhaustion at the moment.

Honestly, I just wanted to get this damn recital over with. I was fed up with this shit and all I was looking forward to was the crazy after-party.

Saying my life is crazy is staying short. Yeah, I'm seventeen, I'm a teenager, but I don't exactly live the most normal of teen-lives. It all started when I was eleven, and I finally got the part to play on some clichéd-yet-riddiculously-popular american sitcom. From that moment I had to move out from my hometown, and start being home-schooled. A month later I already had a dozen of paparazzis at my house's door. After that sitcom I started singing and I released my first album. I acted in a couple of movies, won some People's choise, two Emmys, a Grammy... you know, and all that stuff.

I'll be honest, I'm stunningly beautiful even at my young age. And as you can see I am very well aware of that -even though there's always something to improve...-. I am talented. I'm a composer, I have an amazing voice even though lately I've been singing just plastic pop songs written by record companies and my voice is so modified I don't even sound like myself. I'm a very talented actress too, even though my roles in both movie and TV are really basic. All the girls of my age look up to me and all the boys -and men- would give anything to spend a night with me. I also have a boyfriend who is an actor and has been chosen Hottest Man Alive. And apart from all that, I'm ridiculously rich. So yeah, you could say I'm a lucky girl...

However, lately I've been more named in the tabloids than in awards or anything. I'll admit it: I like calling the attention. I always have, it's like what makes me be me. But I don't do what I do just for attention. I just never played by the rules and if paparazzi are around every single time I break rules then it's not my damn problem. I have enough problems of my own.

Yeah, being a star takes its sacrifices. And I'm not talking just about the paparazzi -who I totally detest, by the way-. Let's just say, I don't have time to even breathe. Whether I am performing on stage, or in an interview, or participating on a movie, I'm always doing something. Another thing about my life? I don't have friends. Not a single one. Sure, once in a while Klaus -my manager- obliges me to pretend I'm besties with my co-stars and that we all hang out together. That's a big fat lie. I hate them all. And they hate me. Because they envy me for being beautiful, talented and succesful. Period.

"Katherine, three minutes!" Isobel shouted from outside my restroom.

"Pearl, could you hurry the fuck up?!" I complained, and I could see how nervous the poor thing was.

I didn't give a damn, if she didn't hurry I'd fire her because my make-up was supposed to be perfect and I had to be singing on that stage in exactly...

"Two minutes!" Isobel shouted.

"You're ready!" Pearl said, pulling away as I looked at myself on the mirror. "Do you like it now?"

"It's not bad" I admitted, looking at myself in the mirror. "Next time, you're fired" I said before standing up.

I walked out of my dressing room to find my crazy mother outside, talking to Klaus.

"Finally, Katerina!" Isobel said.

"Don't call me that" I snapped.

"You need to be out in two minutes" Klaus told me, putting a hand behind my back to drive me to the stage.

But I just went the opposite way.

"Just give me a minute" I said, going backstage.

"Katherine Pierce come back right no-" I didn't even finish to listen to what my mom was saying because I just walked away from her.

I wasn't gonna make it through the whole recital, plus the crazy after party without what I was going to look for.

I made my way through all my back-up dancers, the illumination guys and the rest of the people who worked backstage, looking for him everywhere.

Just when I was starting to freak out, I found him. He was standing at a corner where there was no other people around.

"There you are, you idiot! You were supposed to be on my dressing room twenty minutes ago!" I shouted-whispered to him once I was in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I got held-up" Lukah told me, secretly putting something into my pocket.

"Here you are" I said, handing him the money and he started counting it.

"Thanks" He said after he checked everything was there.

"Next time don't be late or I'll start looking for another dealer" I said before walking away from him and going to the nearest bathroom.

I put some powder on the back of my hand and then aspired it.

Suddenly I felt completely up.

I put the biggest smile on my face as I walked to the stage.

Time for the show.

* * *

**_The next day, in Mystic Falls.._.**

**Stefan's POV**

"So, how is it?" Maria, my mother, asked everyone in the table, as we ate her tamollys.

"Delicious, honey" My dad told her, anything to make her happy.

"Fine, just next time... a little less salty" Damon told her and she rolled her eyes. He was never completely happy with anything.

"Well next time someone could help me" Maria complained.

"I'd do that if I had a break but you know I don't, ma" I told my mother.

Anyone would be exhausted if they had to work with Giuseppe Salvatore -my father- from early in the morning and then go to a university which was two hours away from home in the afternoon. That was one of the consequences of living in a one-horse town.

I was so glad summer was coming soon...

"I know sweetheart, you're a saint" Maria said and Damon rolled his eyes.

My family consisted on me, my parents and my older brother Damon. We lived in a small town called Mystic Falls, in Virginia. It's the typical town in which everybody knows everybody, and in which the only entertainment for young people is the Grill, which is in the 'center' of town. Both my brother and I were born here so we were used to the small-town life. Even though some people might say it's boring, I wouldn't wish to live anywhere else. Actually, I don't think I could survive in a big city for more than a few days. I was brought up as a small-town boy, so big cities aren't exactly my thing.

Last year I finished High School here so I'm studying law right now in a college which is two hours away from Mystic Falls. It's a petty long journey but It's worth the sacrifice.

My father had his own little law firm here in Mystic Falls. As he's the only lawyer in the entire town, you can guess we do well with the business. We're not wealthy, but we have enough money to live and a little more. As my twenty-two-year-old brother Damon is far from becoming a lawyer -he wants to be a chef, just like my mom is- I am the only one to follow the family tradition. Not that I'm complaining, I've always wanted to be a lawyer.

Now the four of us and my girlfriend Rebekah were sitting at the table, enjoying my mom's tamollys.

"So, remember tomorrow there's a barbecue at the Gilbert's'" Giuseppe said, as he served himself another tamolly. "Don't make any arrangement"

Grayson Gilbert had been a friend of my dad since... well, always. They were like brothers now because they'd been best friends since kindergarten. My mother ended up being best friends with Miranda, Grayson's wife, Damon and I had a great relationship with Grayson and Miranda's children, so we were all like a family.

"Rebekah, you can come if you want to" Maria said. She was always kind and gentle with anyone, it didn't matter if she liked them or not. She wasn't fake, she was actually always polite and had a great patience, something I believe I inherited from her.

Nobody in my family liked Rebekah, somehow. She was actually rather shallow and controlling, and sometimes she was just annoying. However, she'd been my girlfriend since high school and it wasn't easy to just leave her. Not that I was interested in anyone else...

"Sure!" Rebekah said excitedly and my brother and my dad sighed in frustration. "Isn't that great?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I guess..." I said.

"Hey let's see what's on TV" Damon said, surely not wanting to hear Rebekah any longer. "Look who's there" Damon said, pointing at the TV where I saw her.

Katherine Gilbert. Or how people called her now, 'Katherine Pierce'. Some years ago I was always checking on her. Like kind of obsessively, but I guess it was because I'd always been overprotective with my best friend, and I wanted to see how she was doing. However, lately I didn't want to see her anywhere. She wasn't the same she used to be. When she talked in an interview I didn't even know who she was. She stopped singing the songs she actually wrote and which were very good and had great messages, to start singing all these loads of crap that she doesn't even write. She was now always on the tabloids getting in some trouble, and she looked skinnier every day. It was too sad to see what they'd done to her, even more when I thought about the little talented girl who wanted to be on Broadway and ended up like this. So every time they showed her on TV I changed the channel. But it was like she was _everywhere_, and it was just impossible not to see her or hear from her.

She was at a concert singing a song. It might have been last night's concert, because it wasn't on live. She didn't look like herself at all. She was in ecstasy. Actually, let's face it, she was high. Maybe someone who didn't know her couldn't tell that, but I completely could. Her smile was fake. She was always smiling, but it never reached her eyes. Of course not anyone noticed this.

"Change that thing" I snapped.

"No, wait a moment look at that!" Rebekah said, staring at the screen.

Then he saw the title under the image: SHOCKING NEWS. HARD-PARTYING TEEN CELEBRITY KATHERINE PIERCE ENTERS REHAB TO TREAT COCAINE ADDICTION.

Even though it wasn't a surprise, I felt relief when hearing that. I knew she needed a stop because she couldn't continue having that lifestyle.

"Oh my god..." Maria said, covering her mouth with her hands in surprise. She'd known Katherine since she was a baby so she was like a daughter to her"

"It was time..." Damon said sadly.

Rebekah scoffed. "Oh, please. Shocking news? Really? Everyone knew she was a junkie slut"

"Could you shut up?!" I snapped all of a sudden, punching the table and taking everyone aback. I just couldn't take people talking about her anymore. "Do you even know her?!"

Nobody dared talk after that, and Damon was about to turn the TV off but then turned off the TV.

There was a big silence until of course, Rebekah spoke.

"Well, I'm sorry. I had forgotten Katherine Pierce is kind of a goddess for you..." Rebekah said and I sighed deeply as I buried my face in my hands. "But you should know, she's always done drugs-"

"Rebekah, that's enough" Giuseppe cut her off. Katherine wasn't just like a daughter to Maria, but also to him. But I knew he did it especially for me because I used to be the closest to her.

"Okay, okay, I was just saying..." Rebekah said, rolling her eyes. "Gosh..."


	3. Everytime

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for taking this long to post, I've been on holidays and then having a busy week... Anyways, I'm back! I wanted to say thank you so much for all your reviews, favs and follows! **

**Now to the story...**

* * *

_Everytime I try to fly I fall_

_Without my wings I feel so small_

_I guess I need you baby_

_And everytime I see you in my dreams_

_I see your face it's hunting me_

_I guess I need you baby..._

**_- Everytime, Britney Spears._**

_**Three months later...**_

**Katherine's POV.**

"So... how are you doing?" Ric asked me in the moment I laid on the couch.

"How do you think I'm doing?" I asked him, staring at the ceiling of his office. "I have no freedom"

Ric chuckled at that. "You like overdramatizing, don't you?"

"Whatever..." I said, looking at my nails while he started writing something on his notebook. I hated when he did that, I sometimes wondered if he was just drawing or playing fucking tic-tac-toe or something.

"What exactly do you miss about the outside word?" He asked me and I snickered. Seriously?

"I miss cocain" I said honestly and he chuckled.

"Apart from that."

"I miss partying. Being on a stage. You know, all that stuff..."

"And what about your old life?" He asked me and I frowned. "Your life in Mystic Falls, before you were famous"

"I was a whole different person back then, Ric" I said honestly.

"But you must miss something from there. I mean, apart from your family who visits you once in a while." Alaric said, and I sighed. The guy loved making me talk about things I don't like to talk about. That's why I hate shrinks. "How did you like to spend time? Did you play with your siblings?"

"Not really" I said, wrinkling my nose. "No, I was practically the whole day hanging out with..." I couldn't help but smile when remembering of him. "...Stefan"

I think Alaric noticed my smile because he raised his eyebrows. "He is your best friend, isn't he?" He said, reading something he had written in another session.

"_Was_" I corrected him. "I haven't seen him in years" I added, sadly.

"He and you were very close, weren't you?"

"We never left each other's side." I told him. "He was the one who was always there even when my mom wasn't" I remembered and then I looked away. I didn't want to talk about this. "Whatever, we were kids and it's not important..."

"Was it hard for you to be separated from him?" Alaric asked me anyway, and I scoffed.

"Hell yeah it was..."

_Flashback. Six years ago..._

_"Stefan, think fast!" Eleven-year-old Katherine told Stefan, throwing him the football while they were both in the backyard of his house._

_Stefan caught the ball skillfully, but didn't laugh or show off or anything. "Katie-" He started saying._

_"Wow, that was great!" She said, clapping her hands and jumping in emotion and he sighed. She always acted like she had had thirty energy drinks when she wanted to avoid talking about certain topics. "You're the best!"_

_"Katie, listen..." He tried to talk to her again._

_"You should become a football player Stefan, I don't know where you got all that crap of becoming a boring lawyer..." She continued, as he started walking towards her._

_"Katie-"_

_"I'm bored, do you wanna go swim to the lake?" She asked him._

_"Katie" He said, standing in front of her._

_"What?! God, what's wrong with you?!" She said snapped. _

_"You're leaving tomorrow" He said sadly._

_Finally she stopped talking when he said that and her smile slowly faded._

_"Don't say that" She told him and he lowered his gaze._

_"But it's the truth"_

_She looked at him in the eyes for a brief moment. There was a long silence before she spoke again. "Can we go in? I'm tired of playing..." She said, now sadly._

_"Sure, let's go to the treehouse"_

_Once they were in the treehouse, both of them sat on the floor and stayed in silence._

_"You could come with me" Katherine told him suddenly._

_"I can't. My parents are here, and I still have to finish middle school and go to High School" He said._

_Katherine lowered her gaze again, starting to think again. She made a small pause before speaking again. "Then I won't leave"_

_"Don't say that, Katie" Stefan said. "This is what you wanted the most, since you were a baby, remember?"_

_Katherine's eyes started filling with tears. "Yes, I guess..." She said and her voice broke._

_"Hey, don't cry..." He said. "You can still see me when you come for a visit"_

_"But it's not the same because I won't see you every day" She said in a shaky voice._

_"Stop crying..." He said, pulling her into a hug as his eyes filled with tears too._

_"I'll miss you, idiot" She said, burying her face on the crook of his neck._

_"Okay, I have an idea" He said, pulling softly away from her and lookinq at her with a comforting smile. Like always he was trying to be strong for her even though he wanted to cry too. "Wait right here" He said before he stood up to go look for something between all the stuff he had in the treehouse._

_"What are you doing?" She asked him, frowning while she wiped off her tears with her hand._

_"I'm gonna give you something important of mine and you'll give me something important of yours" He said, going back to sit on the same spot as before, carrying something in his hands. "Then we'll have something important from each other and we'll always be connected"_

_Katherine stayed in silence for a moment, trying hard to hold her laugh until she couldn't anymore and she burst into laughter._

_Stefan looked at her in confusion and with some amusement. "What?"_

_"Nothing. nothing..." She said, trying to stop laughing. "That was really cheesy..."_

_He smiled when he saw her smiling again. "Are you making fun of me?"_

_"I'm sorry, it's just funny." She told him in amusement. "We've never been the kind of friends with a friendship bracelet and a secret greeting"_

_"I thought you'd said you'd miss me" He said in amusement._

_"Of course I'll miss you, silly" Katherine told him like it was too obvious. "Come on, let's do this"_

_"Here..." He said, giving her his baseball, which he'd had since he was a baby and was his favorite one._

_Katherine's eyes widened. "Your baseball? But you've had that since like forever..."_

_"And you've been my friend since longer than that, haven't you?" He said and she smiled softly at him while he handed her the ball._

_"I'll give it back to you as soon as I come back" She promised him._

_"Sounds fair"_

_"And what can I give you...?" She said, thinking about something important to her... then it suddenly downed to her. "Oh, I know..." She said as she took out her purple hair clip._

_"No, not your lucky clip" Stefan said as she gave it to him._

_She'd worn that clip for every audition and every special occasion in which she needed luck since she was five, because it was her lucky charm._

_"I've had enough luck. Now it's your turn to have it" She said, smiling softly at him. "But don't wear it because it would be kind of ridiculous. You can just keep it in your pocket or under your pillow"_

_He smiled back at her. "I love you, Katie"_

_"I love you too" She said, hugging her friend once more._

* * *

**Stefan's POV**

It was sunday and as usual we were having a barbecue at the Gilberts. I was talking with Elena, Jeremy and my brother while Grayson, Miranda and my parents talked about other stuff, in the other side of the table. It was like we'd never grown up and there was still a 'children table' and an 'adult table'.

"Elena... I've heard you started dating Matt Donovan" Damon told her suddenly and I rolled my eyes. My brother was a sucker for Elena Gilbert, but she was so different from him... They didn't have any chance.

"Who told you that?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Everyone's saying that" Damon said and Elena glared at me.

"What? I didn't say anything" I defended myself. Matt was my friend so I already knew that they were going out together. However, I hadn't told Damon about it.

"Did you know too?" Elena asked Jeremy.

"Yeah, Damon's right, everyone knows" Jeremy said.

"It's impossible to do anything in this town without everyone knowing, right?" Elena complained.

Elena was just like Katherine physically, but they couldn't be any more different in personality. Elena was a shy girl who always wanted to keep a low-profile. She'd always obeyed her parents and she followed the rules. Maybe it was one of the consequences of having a such an outgoing twin.

On top of that, being Katherine's twin had been tough for her. Mystic Falls was the only place in which she was quite, because if she went to any other town or city she immediately had a crowd of people surrounding her, mistaking her for her sister.

At that moment we saw Grayson standing up abruptly from the table, speaking on the phone. Just by his gestures, and by the look on his face we could all tell who he was talking to.

"What?" He asked, standing up and walking towards the house.

Everyone interchanged a look. Grayson and Isobel normally ignored each other, but lately with Katherine being in rehab, Grayson had wanted to be with her and support her, so they didn't have any other choice but to talk.

After a while Grayson came back, and luckily he had a happy face.

"What happened, honey?" Miranda asked him.

"Kath's coming out of rehab in three days" He said and I smiled.

"That's awesome!" Elena said cheerfully.

"But the doctors said it wouldn't be good for her to go back to the stage now" He said and everyone frowned.

"But... what is she gonna do?" Jeremy asked.

"She's gonna be staying here for the summer" Grayson announced.

Everybody dropped their forks, and looked kind of surprise. Then all of our faces lit up in happiness.

"Oh my god, that's so great!" Miranda said.

"We should throw her a welcome party!" Maria suggested.

Katie Gilbert back after six years...

I didn't know why but that kind of freaked me out. But at the same time, all I could think about was...

Finally.

* * *

**Katherine's POV**

"I have good news for you, Katherine" Alaric said while I was looking at my nails and laying on his office couch, and then I turned my head to look at him in interest. "You'll be discharged from treatment next week"

I can't even explain how happy I was at that moment. I would have literally stood up and kiss Ric if it wasn't for the fact that if I did that they'd never let me out. "Oh my god!" I said, sitting on the couch to face Ric. "Really?!"

"Yes, you've improved a lot, and I think getting out of here and breathing a new air will be good for you" He said and I just couldn't stop smiling and nodding at everything he said.

"I couldn't agree more, yes" I said, nodding energetically. "You'll see, Ric, in the moment I get back to a stage I'll be completely sane again"

"Oh, no, no way" He said and I frowned. "You're not going back to the stage yet"

"What?" I asked in surprise, and then thought about it better and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I was thinking about having holidays in Europe..." I said, already imagining myself there and smiling. "Maybe Paris would be cool... I could go shopping for shoes..."

"You're not going to Europe, Katherine" Alaric cut me off, interrupting my daydream. "I've made a decision with the other doctors that will be the best for you in this moment..."

Okay, the guy was starting to really scare me. This wasn't even funny anymore. "What decision, Alaric?" I asked him.

"You're going back to Mystic Falls" He said simply.

First I was shocked. Then, when I realized how ridiculous that idea was, I scoffed. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen..."

"It's going to happen, you already have a plane ticket to go to Mystic Falls in three days" He told me calmly.

"I'm not going anywhere" I said, raising the tone of my voice and talking seriously. "My mother won't allow that, my manager either"

"Both of them agreed with this, for your own sake" He said and I snickered. "Going back to the stage and to your busy life would mean you'll go back to taking drugs. None of us want that"

"Where's my lawyer?" I asked, looking around, starting to freak out. "Where is he?!"

"There's nothing you can really do, Katherine" Ric said, still talking in his I-know-it-all tone. "You're just seventeen, you're underage and your parents still decide where you live"

"Do you have any idea of who I am?!" I snapped. I'd already lost my patience with this guy. "I am Katherine Pierce. I have more Golden Globes than you'll ever have in your dreams!"

"You think that makes you better than other people?" He asked me, raising his eyebrows.

"Like hell it does!" I exclaimed.

"See why you need this, Katherine? So the old Katerina Gilbert comes back" He said and I scoffed.

"You want to ruin my life, right?!" I snapped. "I am royalty. Like seriously, I'm a princess. I only sleep between silk sheets and I have a kind of tea for breakfast that costs more than what you earn in a month" I said and he chuckled in amusement. This wasn't even funny! "You can't send me to the one-horse town where I grew up. It's like sending Cinderella back to her stepmother after she married the prince!"

"You should have made more comedies Katherine, seriously" He joked and I just rolled my eyes. "And dramas too, you would have won an Oscar"

"I would have won an Oscar next year if you weren't doing this to me!" I said, losing my patience.

"Hey, calm down, okay?" He told me. "It will be just for three months. Then you can go act on that sitcom you've been contracted and you can record your new album"

"I can't believe this..." I said, burying my face in my hands. "My whole career is over"

I could almost feel him rolling his eyes. "Don't be overdramatic, Katherine"

"I want to leave, is the session over?" I asked him, lifting my head.

"No, but you can leave" He said and then I stood up.

"Thank you for ruining my life" I told him and he rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Drama queen..." He teased while I walked away.

"Gosh, you gotta be kidding me..."

* * *

"Hey wait... mom, please don't hung up... This is unfair... Let me just talk... Hey!"

And she hung up on me. Again. Just like Klaus did. Nobody gave a freaking damn about me.

Now I was mad. Okay, at first I'd called them to beg them not to let me go back to live with dad and Miranda. But now I was calling them just to talk to them. Maybe it was just to complain, but hey, I needed a pair of ears to listen to me! Was that too much to ask?!

That was the crazy thing about my life... I was surrounded by people twenty-four seven, but in this kind of situation... I was on my own.

It wasn't a big deal for me either. I was used to this. I had to get used to this, if not I wouldn't have survived all these years being a celebrity.

I put on my PJ's and brushed my teeth. When my mom told me all those stories when I was little about how great it would be to become famous, she never told me this part. No, she just told me I would be like a princess, that people would love me and that I'd won lots of prizes... She never mentioned the downsides.

I sat on my bed and opened the drawer in my nightstand table. I grabbed the only thing that was there, that special thing that I'd kept all these years and that always made me feel better.

I smiled as I looked at the baseball in my hands.

* * *

**Hoped you guys liked it! Don't forget to review ;) Until next chapter!**

**PS: About my other story, The Return, I'm in kind of a block so it's taking me a while to write this new chapter... On top of that I've been busy, but I'll try to finish the new chapter as soon as I can :)**


	4. Nobody's home

_Don't know where she belongs,_

_where she belongs..._

_She wants to go home, _

_but nobody's home. _

_It's where she lies, _

_broken inside._

_With no place to go,_

_No place to go to dry her eyes. _

_Broken inside._

** Avril Lavigne - Nobody's home**

**Katherine's POV**

I walked through the airport's doors, not really seeing what was ahead of me. My luggage was taller than me and I didn't have any idea of where I was going. The worst is that I hadn't brought so much luggage. Just nine bags. Like, seriously, it was just that, then why was everyone staring at me?

I knew they weren't staring because they recognized me. I was wearing big sunglasses, my hair was on a ponytail and I had a horrible baseball cap on. Apart from that, Klaus had made a big plan for paparazzi not to follow me. The media thought I was in my country house in California with my mom. So at least I'd have calmness these days... too much, maybe.

I left the trolley for a moment and looked around, looking for my family. They were going to pick me up at the airport to drive me to Mystic Falls, which was two hundred kilometers away from here.

Then I spotted them and for the first time since the last days, I smiled -just a little-. My dad, Miranda, Elena and Jeremy were looking for me. I had recently seen them, as they'd come to visit me while I was in rehab, but I had to admit I was still happy to see them. However, I wasn't happy to be here, not for a second.

I waved at them and then they spotted me and they ran towards me.

The first one to wrap her arms around me was Elena. She actually crushed me and I had to back down some steps. "So happy you're back!" She said and then I hugged her back.

"I wish I could say the same" I said before pulling away.

"Sis, you're finally here!" Jeremy said, hugging me too.

After I greeted the four of them and my father complained about my 'excessive' luggage, we got in the car to start our journey to Mystic Falls. Yeah! How fun!

"So, tell us sweetheart" Grayson said as he pulled over. "How are you?"

"Amazing" I said, obviously sarcastically. "Seriously, this is the best day of my life"

I could see my dad rolling his eyes from the rearview mirror.

"You could at least pretend, Katherine" Miranda said and I decided to look by the window.

"I miss my mom" I said, just to make Miranda shut up and to piss my father off.

Yes, I could be a bitch when I was mad. And right now I was beyond mad. I was furious with the world.

Just then my phone vibrated and I saw I had a message from my boyfriend.

Kol Mikaelson and I had been dating for a year. He was British, he was rich, he was famous and he was ridiculously hot. Perfect, right? I met him while filming a movie last year, and Klaus and Kol's managers thought it would be good publicity if we started dating. So we went out and we 'fell in love' and now we make the hottest couple ever. People even compare us with Brad and Angelina and Justin and Britney. We're epic.

I decided to spend the rest of the journey chatting with Kol instead of paying attention to my family.

Next stop: Mystic Dull...

* * *

_**Two hours and a half later...**_

Grayson pulled over my old house, which was just like six years ago. Nothing had changed. My dad never wanted to waste any of my money on himself, he preferred to keep it for when I was older. I'd always insisted that he should buy himself a better house in a better place like LA, buy a new car and start to live a better life like Isobel had because I'd continue earning more and more money in the next years. However, he and Miranda don't like luxuries and they love Mystic Falls.

"Your bedroom is just like you left it" Grayson told me once we walked out of the car.

"Great..." I said sarcastically, starting to walk to the house.

"Katerina!" My dad called behind me and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in order not to snap at him. I wasn't Katerina! I was Katherine Pierce!

"What?" I asked, turning around.

"Won't you help to carry the bags?" He asked, and then I saw all the family was helping take out the suitcases from the car.

I rolled my eyes as I walked towards them. "I don't carry bags"

"Katherine, not that I want to fight already, but you're a pain in the ass" Elena said, passing me one bag and I glared at her.

"Just carry that one" Grayson told me, giving up and then I walked to the house, carrying the heavy suitcase.

I walked through the doors and as I had expected, I didn't find anything new. However, it brought me lots of memories... most of them good ones, for some odd reason.

I walked up the stairs and went to my old bedroom. I felt like there had been ages since the last time I was there, even though everything was exactly the same.

I took off my cap and sunglasses and left them on the bed and left my suitcase next to it before starting walking around the bedroom. Sometimes I forgot about who I was back then, but that was because I'd changed completely. There were posters of Wicked, Grease, Mamma mia and Les Mis on the walls, and there were lots of CD's on the shelves, next to the books. My small guitar was against the wall, and I smiled when I looked at it, remembering my first guitar lessons...

Then I saw a portrait on my nightstand table, and I walked towards it, leaving my suitcase by the bed. I picked the portrait up to find a picture of me when I was like ten, and next to me was Stefan. We were smiling and we looked really happy. I even remembered that day. It was at the school camp, that day I had insisted Stefan that it would be a good idea to escape from the group and go spend the day by the lake, because the rest were gonna do boring activities inside. Stefan didn't want at first but of course I got what I wanted in the end, I always did and I still do.

"Kath?" Miranda said from behind me, and I turned around and hid the portrait behind my back as if I had just been busted doing something wrong.

"Yes?" I said nervously, seeing she was bringing two other suitcases.

"The Salvatores are coming for dinner. You might want to start getting ready"

I nodded as I took a deep breath. "Okay..." I said before she left the bedroom giving me a strange look.

I didn't even know why I was nervous.

* * *

**Stefan's POV**

I seriously was about to go insane. People around me were starting to drive me completely crazy.

First, there was my mother. She was like crazy saying we should hurry up to get to the Gilberts', because Katherine had already arrived. Of course I wanted to hurry up too, because I just wanted to see Katherine. But someone was making it difficult...

Rebekah was on the phone complaining to me that I wasn't going to his uncle's birthday. I understood she wanted me to be part of her family, but I had already told her I couldn't today because Katherine was coming back. Then she started with her irrational jealousy, telling me I preferred Katherine before my own girlfriend and I don't know what else. Just bullshit.

To make matters worse Damon was always teasing me about Katherine in front of Rebekah. He was immature and never helped in anything...

"...You know what my father's saying about you?!" Rebekah was saying on the phone, while I walked down the stairs of my house. "That you are avoiding him!" I had to hold my laugh. I wish I could avoid that man... "Stefan I swear if you don't come right now-"

"Okay, okay, Rebekah, let's do this" I cut her off. Anything to shut her mouth. "I'll go to your house to say hi, then I'll go have dinner with my family at the Gilberts, okay?"

There was a small silence on the line, like she was thinking about it. I didn't care what she thought, if she didn't like the idea I'd just directly go to the Gilberts' house.

"Okay" She finally said. "See you"

"See you" I told her while I reached the living room, where my mom was waiting with my dad and Damon.

"Ready to go?" Giuseppe asked me.

"Change of plans" I told them. "I'll have to go later."

* * *

**Katherine's POV**

_**Half an hour later...**_

"Oh my god dear, you look so beautiful!" Maria said as she hugged me in the lobby of my house. Luckily I had had time to change my clothes, because I was looking like crap when I arrived. Now I was wearing my usual high heels, black skinny jeans and a purple tank top which made my boobs look better. My hair was lose in curls like always and I had make-up on. I was more dressed up to go to an interview than to be in Mystic Falls. But I was used to standing out, I'm a star.

"Thank you" I said, pulling away.

Then Giuseppe hugged me. "Kath darling it's been so long..."

"Yeah..." I said, hugging Giuseppe back and then looked at Damon.

Wow. I remember he was my first crush back when I was ten, but Stefan never stopped reminding me that he was fifteen back then and he was too old for me. But he used to be super hot and he still was. However, I kind of looked at him like an older brother who I hadn't seen for long.

"Kathy, you are hot" He said, looking at me.

"Tell me something I don't know" I said, rolling my eyes in amusement and he chuckled as he hugged me.

When we pulled away I looked around, trying to find Stefan. I can't even begin to explain how disappointed I felt when I didn't see him. I'd thought he'd be excited to see me. I was excited to see him.

Maria kind of noticed the look in my face. "Stefan's coming later, don't worry" She told me and I relaxed. "He is a little delayed."

"We're all waiting for that reunion" Miranda said, with a smile. "Now let's wait for Stefan in the living room, shall we?"

While we all went to the living room, I thought about how tired I felt of this whole family-thing. Right now I could be performing on a stage, then going to a party and having real fun. This town was dull. I didn't belong here. Not anymore.

I sat in one of the armchairs, wishing I was somewhere else.

"So how was the flight, Kath?" Giuseppe asked me.

"Boring." Was all I said, looking at my nails. Were there good manicurists here in Mystic Falls? I had no clue.

"The first class must be comfortable, though" Maria said.

"I guess" I said, looking away.

Maria and Giuseppe seemed taken aback by my behavior. Had they been expecting to see the cheerful and charismatic eleven-year-old I was before I left? Because if they had they were about to get really disappointed...

"Does anyone want something to drink while we wait?" Miranda asked, standing up.

Finally!

"Thai iced tea, please, sugar-free" I said, still looking at my nails. I missed my manicurist so much, I wished I could have him there...

When I parted my gaze from my horrendous nails, I could see the people in the living room looking at each other, and Damon, Jeremy and Elena chuckling and looking amused. What was so funny?!

"There's no Thai tea, Kath" Miranda said and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, then Jasmine tea?" I asked and she still looked at me with that face. "Chai tea?"

"I'll bring you some regular tea, okay?" She said and I snickered.

"Whatever..." I said.

"Okay..." Miranda said, and then she looked at the rest. "Do you guys want something?"

"Just water, Miranda" Giuseppe said.

"Japanese water, with extra ice and no sugar please" Damon said and Jeremy and Elena laughed as I glared at him.

"Okay..." Miranda said walking to the kitchen with an amused expression.

I still didn't know what was so funny. Like, this people are ridiculously crazy.

* * *

The next half an hour was a complete torture. Giuseppe and Maria kept asking me questions like I was in a freaking interview, while Elena, Jeremy and Damon looked at me like they didn't like me at all -by the way, I didn't give a damn about that-. Meanwhile I had to drink the disgusting regular tea because I was starving -All I had eaten in the past three days was ice- and I had to stand Grayson and Miranda glaring at me because of my 'behavior'.

Suddenly my phone started ringing and my face lit up when I saw the ID: Isobel. She surely had regretted what she did to me and was coming to rescue me!

"Excuse me" I told everyone while I stood up to go talk to the front porch, while I answered the phone. "Finally! I've been calling you for days!"

"I'm sorry, honey" My mother said while I exited the house and closed the door behind me. "I knew that you were calling to shout at me"

"Of course I was calling to shout at you!" I snapped, while I walked to the handrail, facing the forest while I talked. "How could you do this to me?! How could you abandon me again?! You know I don't belong here! You should see my nails, I look like a hobo! And today I had to do my hair and my make-up myself! Do you have any idea of how long that took me?! Three fucking hours!"

"Are you done acting like a child, Katerina?" Isobel asked but I didn't listen to her.

"You have to let me come back, I beg you" I pleaded her.

"I am sorry Kat, the doctors said this would be the best for-"

"But I'm not even doing drugs now!" I cut her off. "Please, mom, I beg you, I need my old life back"

"Honey, it's just for three months..." Isobel said, and I knew there was no point in arguing with her anymore.

"I hate this" I said.

"I know" Isobel said, then made a brief pause. "I have to leave you now, okay?"

"No, mom, wait, I wanna talk to you" I said.

"Sorry, I have to go. Take care!"

"Mom, please wait!" I said before hearing the tone of my phone. She'd hanged up on me. "Thanks mother" I said between greeted teeth, before putting my phone back in my pocket.

I took a deep breath as I buried my face between my hands, with my elbows laying on the rails. I was about to start crying when I heard a voice.

"Katie?" A male voice said behind me, and then I lifted my head and turned around.

At first I didn't know who was in front of me. I just saw a ridiculously handsome young man, looking at me with a shocked expression. He had brown messy hair, but messy in a sexy way if you know what I mean. He had the perfect height, was taller than me even when I had heels on but yet he wasn't _too_ tall. I could notice he had muscles under his shirt, just the right amount of muscles for me. And even though he was dressed up casually and simply, he looked like a model in his maroon V-necked t-shirt and his jeans. And I hang out with models a lot...

It was when I looked at his eyes that I knew exactly who he was. Those green eyes... they were unmistakable. I'd never forgotten about those eyes.

"Stefan?" I said in complete thunderstruck. Even as a kid he was beautiful, but I hadn't expected him to look so gorgeous now.

Then he smiled and his eyes brightened up, like they usually used to do when he was a kid.

I didn't even notice that I was smiling too. And I wasn't faking a smile, I was genuinelly smiling.

And before I could realize I was running towards him, to wrap my arms around him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist, as we held each other tightly. "Why didn't you come back before?" He asked me almost in a whisper, while I buried my face on the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.

"I'm sorry" I said, holding him tighter. I didn't want to let him go ever again. "I've missed you so much" I admitted without intending to.

"Me too" He said, and then I had to pull away from him to have a better look at his face. It was weird, but even though I hadn't seen him in years I felt like I'd seen him yesterday and he was just my -sexy as hell- best friend Stefan.

"You look beautiful" He said all of a sudden, taking me aback.

I could tell he hadn't intended to say that last thing, because he immediately looked away nervously.

I found that really cute.

"Thanks" I told him with a smile. "You don't look so bad yourself"

Just at that moment the front door of my house opened and we both turned our heads at the same time to see Miranda standing there with an amused smile. "Seems like we've missed the big reunion" She said and we both just stood there looking at her like idiots. Everything that was in my head at that moment was Stefan, and I couldn't act normally. "Will you come in or you want us to leave you alone?"

I glared at Miranda while Stefan looked away uncomfortably just before we walked inside the house.

* * *

"Miranda, this is delicious" Giuseppe said while everyone except from me attacked their plates of Chili during dinner.

Meanwhile I was playing with my fork, throwing the Chili my mom had made from one side of the plate to the other. I wasn't gonna eat this shit, I couldn't eat more than two hundred calories a day or I'd get fat. Besides, it looked disgusting.

"Thank you" Miranda said and then looked at me. The woman had an obsession with me, she'd never learn that I am not her daughter so I'm not her business. "Aren't you gonna eat that?"

"I am a slow eater" I said, knowing Grayson and Miranda wouldn't like my strict diet if I told them about it.

"You look really skinny, honey" Grayson said with a worried look and I rolled my eyes.

"Seems like you've been reading the tabloids" I said bitterly. Before I went to rehab and everybody started talking about my cocaine addiction, the tabloids' favorite topic used to be my 'eating disorder'. They're never happy with anything. Weather you lose or you gain weight, they always have something to say.

"We'll let that go for today because you've just arrived" Grayson said.

I hated this. They treated me like an ordinary seventeen-year-old when I was a star and I deserved better.

I looked at Stefan, who was sitting in front of me, and caught him staring at me, and when he realized I'd noticed he quickly looked away. I smiled softly, lowering my gaze to my plate. He was so cute, and so hot...

Then I realized he wasn't the only one looking at me. Everyone was staring at me like I was an alien or something. They were actually looking at me like they didn't know me, and that made me kind of upset for a second, then remembered I wasn't the 'Katerina' they used to know so in fact, I was a stranger to them.

"I saw Carol Lockwood today" Maria said all of a sudden, luckily changing the subject. "She said she wants to throw you a welcome party this saturday, so all the town gets to see you again"

The last thing I wanted was the whole town together surrounding me and asking me lots of questions and talking about how they saw me in this and that movie. "Sounds awesome..." I said sarcastically.

"You're gonna have fun" Stefan told me with a kind smile. "Carol Lockwood's parties are still the best"

"Are you gonna be there?" I asked him flirtatiously. I just couldn't help it, he was hot and I'm used to getting what I want.

"Of course I am" He said and I smiled at him.

"Can you just not invite Rebekah, please?" Damon said and I frowned.

"I can't and you know it" Stefan said.

"Who's Rebekah?" I asked.

"My baby bro's girlfriend" Damon said and I felt somehow disappointed. Of course he had a girlfriend, a guy like that couldn't be single. "She's a bitch"

"Damon!" Giuseppe scolded him.

Funny how Stefan didn't defend his own girlfriend.

"Damon doesn't like her" Stefan explained to me.

"None of us does" Elena said.

"Well, let's not talk about someone who isn't here, okay?" Miranda said, spoiling the fun like always. I was already hating this Rebekah bitch.

"Kath, you must want to go see how the town's changed over the years" Maria told me.

"Has it changed at all?" I asked without any interest really, as I looked at my nails once more. What. A. Mess...

"Well, it hasn't changed that much but there are a few new shops in the center which are-" Maria started saying but I just didn't listen.

"Is there a manicurist?" I cut her off, parting my gaze from my nails to look at her. "Like, someone professional with all the necessary staff"

She seemed taken aback by my question, like I had asked her if there was a Gucci shop or something. Which by the way would be great, I love everything made by Gucci. "Em... I don't know..." She said.

"Time for you to come down to earth, sweetheart" Damon told me with one of his smirks I was starting to hate. "You're lucky if you find a doctor here. And that is your father."

"I really don't care" I told him, shrugging my shoulders and looking directly to my father and Miranda. "As soon as this stupid summer break is over I'm going back to my house in Beverly Hills, and I'll get my old life back"

Both of them seemed hurt by my words at first. I would have said I was sorry but... I was not. I didn't want to be there and I wanted them to know that.

"Well, meanwhile, you're gonna have to follow my rules because you're at my house and famous or not you're underage" Grayson said and I glared at him. "Now eat your food"

I looked at him in disbelief. Nobody had talked to me like that since I was like... eleven years old. And I wouldn't put up with this kind of abuse. So I pulled my chair back before standing up.

"Tomorrow I'm going home." I said with determination, and before anyone could say anything I walked away.

I went upstairs and to the bedroom which once was mine. I wasn't gonna call it _my_ bedroom, that one was in Beverly Hills...

What am I saying?! In Beverly Hills all I had were a lot of maids and butlers and people who were there for me twenty-four seven, but they were there to do my hair and my make-up, not to care about me or anything. I didn't feel at home there.

Even Isobel was just there when the time was right... But when things went wrong she disappeared. And Kol... let's be honest, Kol and I used each other and that was all. I'd never call him if I had a problem, because he wouldn't care, and he'd never call me if he had a problem either and it was okay because I don't even know if we like each other.

But, the sad truth is, I didn't belong here either. Not anymore. Elena and Jeremy couldn't even stand me. Grayson was always defending Miranda, who I can't stand. And Stefan... he had a girlfriend to take care of now. Somehow I felt jealous like hell when thinking about Stefan hanging out with another girl, telling her his secrets, having fun with her. But what had I been expecting? Six years had gone by! He surely had made other friends and met lots of new girls... I was the only one who hadn't made a single friend since I was eleven...

I cleaned my make-up and put on my nightgown to go to bed. I had to dry a few tears off my face.

I didn't even know where I belonged anymore.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, but it takes me a lot of time to write these chapters :S This last part was a little sad but I wanted to show how Kath feels like a stranger in her own house, because she's changed a lot and it's been six years that she'd been having a crazy pop-star life. She's a little unbearable now but hopefully Stefan will bring the old Katherine back! He's the only one who brings out that side of her, after all...  
**

**Please don't forget to review :) Until next chapter!**


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